Monster Kawasaki Gunning for EX Title

March 9, 2012

Courtesy of EnduroCross

The Monster Energy Kawasaki team is determined to earn the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil in 2012. They have been grooming talented young riders the past few seasons and also added a third rider to the team and believe they are prepared to contend for the title. The eight round championship series will kick off on Friday, May 4th inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas during the Monster Energy Supercross finals weekend and below is an introduction to the riders that Kawasaki expects to be fighting for that title:

Justin Soule: Three podium finishes in 2011 including a third place at the X Games combined with consistent results earned Soule third in the championship for the second season in a row. He races with a lot of heart and regularly fights back from adversity to work his way to the front. He has proven that he has the fitness, technical skills and experience needed to contend for the title in 2012 and just needs to more consistently start near the front of the pack.

Taylor Robert: Robert earned the E3 Spark Plugs Junior Championship in 2011, which is a championship within a championship for riders twenty one years of age and under. He capped the season off with a second place finish during the second final at Las Vegas to prove that he was a quick study during his first full season of GEICO EnduroCross. Now that he tasted the podium, look for him to be hungry for more.

Bobby Garrison: Garrison has not competed in the EnduroCross championship for the past few seasons as he focused on the WORCS series as a privateer. Several wins in that series helped earn him a spot on the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad for 2012 and he has already re-paid that trust with a win at the Mesquite, Nevada round. With one of the best bikes in the paddock and the opportunity to practice EnduroCross, Garrison should quickly find his way to the front of the pack.

Although he is not competing in the full GEICO EnduroCross Championship series in 2012, Destry Abbott, the longtime Monster Kawasaki rider and crowd favorite will be competing in selected rounds and regularly finds a way to qualify for the main events in dramatic fashion.

Jason Smigel, the Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Supervisor had this to say about the 2012 EnduroCross series: “Endurocross in itself is an extremely tough sport. Add a talented field of riders to the mix, and it gets even tougher. Fortunately for us, we have the confidence going into this season knowing we have some of the most talented riders in the field on our team. That combined with what we feel is the best bike in the field, the KX250F, we are certain we have the formula for success going into the 2012 Endurocross series.”

EnduroCross tracks incorporate various elements of extreme off road racing into a Supercross-style setting, including rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, a water-hole…and even a few special obstacles like giant tires thrown in! Known as the “toughest racing on two wheels,” this indoor off road racing will certainly keep you on your feet. For the seven EnduroCross events, be sure to log-on to www.motorsportshour.com for local air dates/times for the Lucas Motorsports Hour on the NBC Sports Network.